Japan on Monday condemned North Korea's latest short-range ballistic missile launch into the Sea of Japan, but said it will hold bilateral talks with the North as scheduled.
"The missile launch violated UN Security Council resolutions, and Japan immediately lodged a protest with North Korea," Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told a press conference.
"We will collect information and analyze the situation, while respond in cooperation with the US, South Korea and other countries," the top government spokesman said.
On Sunday, North Korea fired two short-range missiles off its east coast toward the Sea of Japan, which followed similar launches last Thursday.
Suga also said Prime Minister Shinzo Abe held the National Security Council meeting in the wake of North Korea's missile launch, in which the premier instructed relevant government ministries and agencies to deal with the North's action in an appropriate manner.
But Suga said government representatives from the two countries will meet on Tuesday in Beijing as planned. "The meeting will be held tomorrow, as it is an opportunity to discuss not only the abduction issue but also security concerns such as North's missile and nuclear programs." The North Korean side is expected to brief Japan on Tuesday about the investigation committee for abductions of Japanese nationals by the country's agents in the 1970s and 1980s, as it agreed to resume a full-scale investigation last month. In return, Japan will consider a partial lifting of its unilateral sanctions on the North if it believes the investigation is substantive.
In 2002, North Korea admitted kidnapping 13 Japanese and returned five victims and their families, claiming that the other eight victims were dead. But Japan has demanded proof of their deaths and believes 17 people were kidnapped.
The North agreed in 2008 to reinvestigate the abduction cases, but has failed to fulfill its promise.